Serenity
by Earthbrat
Summary: Its the classic "Relena is tired of her life so she runs away" story, but with a big twist. Lets just say that her new life hasn't quite turned out the way she thought it would.
1. prologue

Okay, here is my newest story. It starts out as the classic, 'Relena runs away to start a new life' story, but I added a little twist. Enjoy, and please review.  
  
"..." Speaking '...' Thoughts ... Author's notes  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters and I do not own New York City (If I did, I would have bought Gundam Wing a long time ago).  
  
Serenity  
  
"Relena, open up, its me." Heero said, knocking on her door. "I got the papers you wanted."  
  
No answer. "Relena?" Once again, no answer. Heero slowly opened the door, on the lookout for anything suspicious. What he found was an empty hotel room. Relena wasn't there. He looked around the room, confused. Then he noticed the note.  
  
'Heero,  
You've probably noticed by now that I'm not in the room anymore. Sorry, but I just have to get out of here. Not just out of the hotel, but out of my life. I just can't do it anymore. I'm sick and tired of acting like I'm 50 years old. Please tell Milliardo that it's his duty to rule the world now, because I'm not coming back. Goodbye Heero.  
  
-Relena  
  
Heero stared at the note for a few seconds, hoping it was just a joke. It didn't take him long to realize that it wasn't.  
  
"Shit"  
  
Okay, there you go. The first chapter of The Flight of the Dove is complete. See, nothing out of the ordinary... yet. Please review. 


	2. Not so wonderful surprise

Chapter 2 of "Serenity" is now up. That's all I'm saying for now. "..." Speaking '...' Thoughts ... Author's notes  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters and I do not own New York City (obviously). I also don't own the song, "Serenity." It belongs to the band, Godsmack (the best band in the world). 'It's been a whole year. One year since Relena sent me out to her limo to get some stupid papers while she snuck out of the hotel and out of my life. I didn't think I'd miss her this much. I'm not supposed to miss anybody; I'm not supposed to care... but I do.'  
  
The lights of New York City flashed by Heero as Duo drove all of the Gundam pilots to a destination that Duo described as "Hot as Hell, yet cool as Heero's heart." He got a yank on the braid for that one.  
  
The other pilots insisted that Heero come with them on a vacation to New York City. He had been working non-stop for the past year looking for Relena. He hated New York City though; this is the city where he lost her...  
  
"Hello! Earth to Heero. We're here." Duo called, waving his hand in front of Heero's face. Heero glared at the braided pilot and looked out at their destination.  
  
"A strip club!?" Quatre squeaked. Heero and the other pilots glared at Duo. They stood in front of a small building called "The Black Swan." The windows were covered with tinted glass and the red and black carpet that led into the door was guarded by a gorilla sized bouncer.  
  
"Come on," Duo quipped. "It'll be fun." Quatre looked nervous and the others looked exasperated, but they all followed Duo into the glowing entrance of "The Black Swan."  
  
They all sat down on large black leather arm chairs towards the back of the club. They were facing the stage, which looked like a runway-shaped fish tank. The stage was made of a clear material that was filled with water, plants and large fish.  
  
"What's with the fish tank?" Trowa asked.  
  
"It's supposed to represent how the girls are tainted swans, dancing on the lake." Duo replied.  
  
Wufei smirked, "That was almost poetic."  
  
"SSHHH! The shows starting," Duo shushed excitedly.  
  
A woman wearing an impossibly short dress walked up to the front of the stage, a microphone in hand. Men cheered and hollered as she approached. She smiled and said, "Thank you and welcome to The Black Swan. I am I am Crystal Sands, and I own this club. For all of you gentlemen who have never been here before, we have a special treat that no other club in the world has. One of our very own dancers is an exact look-alike of the Dove of Peace, Princess Relena!" The crowd erupted in cheers and whistles. Heero sat staring at the woman in horror as the Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei turned and glared at Duo.  
  
The American pilot, in turn, smiled at them and whispered, "Hey I thought it would do him some good."  
  
Before the three pilots could say anything, Crystal Sands began to speak again. "Now, without further ado, I give you, Amber Stone I'm really sorry to anyone who actually has that name."  
  
The lights in the club dimmed slightly as pink and blue spotlights shown onto the stage. A girl with long black hair walked onto the stage as a guitar started stringing a haunting tune. She was dressed in black leather hot pants and a matching corset tank top. On her feet she was wearing platform, knee-high, leather boots. She approached the pole and started dancing and twirling around the pole seductively as a gravely voice came over the speakers:  
  
As I sit here and slowly close my eyes  
  
I take another deep breath  
  
And feel the wind pass through my body  
  
I'm the one in your soul  
  
Reflecting inner light  
  
Protect the ones who hold you  
  
Cradling your inner child  
  
'She looks exactly like Relena,' Heero thought mournfully.  
  
I need serenity  
  
In a place where I can hide  
  
I need serenity  
  
Nothing changes, days go by  
  
The girl on stage ripped of the corset, revealing a black and light blue bra that left little to the imagination. The men hooted as she leapt up and spun around the pole. Heero caught a glimpse of a tattoo in kanji on her right hip bone. 'Yakusoku promise.' Heero looked down at his wrist. The same tattoo stared back at him. 'Promise.' Suddenly, his blood started to boil and he saw red. That girl was Relena!  
  
Where do we go when we just don't know  
  
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold  
  
Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing  
  
And when will we learn to control  
  
Heero got up and stormed out of the building. The other pilots were too absorbed in being fascinated and horrified by the show to notice him go. He stormed out to the car and sat in the driver's seat, banging his head on the steering wheel.  
  
Tragic visions slowly stole my life  
  
Tore away everything  
  
Cheating me out of my time  
  
I'm the one who loves you  
  
No matter wrong or right  
  
And every day I hold you  
  
I hold you with my inner child  
  
He heard the men inside cheer. It took every ounce of his self control to keep himself from ripping every man in there into shreds.  
  
I need serenity  
  
In a place where I can hide  
  
I need serenity  
  
Nothing changes, days go by  
  
He waited there for about an hour, just staring off into space. A movement over by the club caught his attention. It was Relena. She was being walked to her car by a bouncer. 'Even in sweats and a t-shirt, she's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,' echoed a small voice in the back of Heero's mind.  
  
Where do we go when we just don't know  
  
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold  
  
Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing  
  
And when will we learn to control  
  
She said good-bye to the bouncer and got into her car. Heero waited for the bouncer to go inside and for Relena to get farther down the street before he started his car and followed her.  
  
Where do we go when we just don't know  
  
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold  
  
Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing  
  
And when will we learn to control  
  
I need serenity I need serenity  
  
So, how do you all feel about this? Do you like it? Are you mortified? Are you ready to throw large, sharp objects at my head? Or, do you think that it's the best thing since sliced bread? Let me know.  
  
In the next chapter, you get to find out why Relena is doing this. Till next time... 


	3. Why?

Hi. I'm back. On to the next chapter of "Serenity." In this chapter, you will find out why Relena has become a stripper.  
  
"..." Speaking '...' Thoughts ... Author's notes  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters and I do not own New York City (obviously). Heero followed Relena to an apartment building about fifteen minutes away from the Black Swan. He parked around a corner and crept over to the building. He caught the gate as it was closing and walked into a courtyard. He quickly and quietly climbed a tree in the center of the courtyard so that he could see what apartment Relena was going into. He watched her walk up a set of stairs to apartment 2B. She unlocked the door and walked in, shutting the door softly behind her.  
  
Heero jumped out of the tree and stood staring at the door, trying to decide what to do. He knew that she would be angry with him for trying to take her back to the Sanc Kingdom, but he couldn't just walk away and let her continue to take her clothes off for money.  
  
He sighed and walked the path to her door, ready to face the one who had haunted his dreams since he was fifteen.   
  
Relena reached for a bottle of water as someone knocked on her door. She set the bottle down and walked over to the door. She unlocked the three bolts, but kept the chain in place. She opened the door and gasped as she face to face with a pair of cold, Prussian blue eyes. Her startled expression quickly vanished though, and was replaced with a sad smile.  
  
"Come in Heero," she said as she unhooked the chain and opened the door for him.  
  
He walked in, slightly confused, and said, "Were you expecting me?"  
  
"I have been for the past year," she replied. He nodded. "So how did you know it was me?" she asked.  
  
Heero walked up to her and softly touched her hip where the tattoo was underneath her t-shirt. "Do you think I would forget about that?" he asked her softly. She blushed and walked past him toward her living room window.  
  
She had her back to him as she stared out the window, but he could tell that she was tense and uncomfortable. "So, you saw the show?" she whispered.  
  
Heero nodded. "Why are you doing this Relena?" he asked coldly. "Why are you degrading yourself when you have an image to live up to?"  
  
"Don't you think I fucking know that?" She yelled, whirling around to face him. "Do you honestly think I wanted my time of freedom to be filled with drunken men sticking dollar bills down my g-string? No! This isn't what I had planned. I was going to go to college and be a teacher. Exotic dancer was the farthest thing from my mind!"  
  
"Then what changed your mind?" Heero said calmly.  
  
The former queen of the world sighed and sunk down to the ground. "I've put too much emphasis on education over the years. I kept going on and on about how it was the most important thing, so now you practically have to have a degree to flip burgers! Dancing was the only job that I could find besides prostitution!"  
  
"But you practically have a doctorate in politics," Heero pointed out.  
  
"Yes, but I have no certification. I started working in politics when I was fifteen, so I didn't technically finish high school. I knew everything I needed to know, plus much more, but I didn't have anything to prove it. I never needed anything; I was queen on the whole god-damn world! But because of that, everyone who knows me as Amber Trent thinks that I'm a high school dropout. Over the past year, I've gotten my GED, and now I'm trying to save up for college."  
  
"Why didn't you just take some money with you when you ran away?"  
  
Relena smirked, "First of all, I didn't run away. I stayed where I was and you assumed that I hopped a plane to some far off land." Heero glared at her. "Secondly," she continued, "the whole point of me leaving was to start a new life away from being Foreign Minister she was promoted, just to let you know. I felt that using any money from my old life would be relying on a life that I don't want. That isn't right."  
  
Heero closed his eyes and shook his head. Her words stung him. She didn't want her life. Did that mean that she didn't want him either? He couldn't let on how her words hurt, so instead he said, "I still can't believe you would allow yourself to do something as demeaning as stripping."  
  
"It isn't that bad," she replied, slightly irritated. "I've met some of the nicest people working there. Most of the girls are in my situation and just can't afford an education yet. Sure, I have to deal with some dirt bags, and I feel disgusted with myself after every show, but as long as I don't think too hard about what I'm doing, it's actually a pretty good job."  
  
Heero stared at her, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. Relena blushed, but held his gaze.  
  
"So," she said, breaking the staring contest. "Are you going to tell Milliardo and the other pilots that I'm here?"  
  
"I have to Relena," he replied softly as he got up and walked towards the door. "It's my job."  
  
With that, he walked out the door before Relena could say another word.  
  
Okay, so now you know why Relena has taken up exotic dancing. In the next chapter, Heero tries to make Relena come back to her old life, but she's not going back that easily. And you will finally find out what is up with those tattoos. I was going to write about them this chapter, but it's late and I'm tired. Please review. 


	4. Yakusoku

Yay! Chapter 4! In this chapter, you find out what's up with those tattoos.

I'm disappointed. I was hoping for some more reviews. I never get very many. Please review; let me know what you think.

"..." Speaking

'...' Thoughts

... Author's notes

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters and I do not own New York City (obviously).

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Relena stood in front of the large mirror in the dressing room of "The Black Swan." She was dressed in a pair of sparkly black spankies You know, the underwear that cheerleaders wear under their skirts and a silver, sequin-covered bra. Next to her were her friends, Andrea and Samantha, who were waiting to go up on stage. As Relena fixed her makeup, Samantha got a glimpse of the tattoo on her hip.

"Hey Amber," she asked, "What's up with that tattoo? What does it mean?"

Relena looked down at her tattoo in the mirror and smiled softly. "It means 'promise'."

Both Samantha and Andrea looked at their friend, eyebrows raised. "Well?!" they said in unison.

Relena looked at them, surprised, "Well, what?"

"Why do you have 'promise' tattooed on your hip?" Andrea sighed, rolling her eyes.

The two girls watched as Relena's smile turned sad and she seemed to stare off into space.

"Amber?"

"When I was sixteen," Relena began, "I lost my virginity to a boy that I cared about very much. We were both kind of lost at that time and ended up finding hope in each other. But we knew that there couldn't be anything between us. There was just too much going on in our lives.

"Before we parted ways, we made a promise to each other. We promised that no matter what happened, whether we met again, died, met someone new, or ended up alone for the rest of our lives, we would always love and find hope in each other. We got matching tattoos as a symbol of that promise."

Samantha and Andrea stared at the black haired girl standing in front of them.

"That's so sweet!" Andrea gushed. "Did you ever see him again?"

Relena's expression suddenly went blank. "No," was all she said.

Samantha and Andrea looked at each other and were about to ask more when the stage manager came into the room and told them that they were next and Relena should get ready. The two dancers got up and walked out of the room, still confused about what they had just seen and heard.

Relena sighed sadly and went back to getting ready until a movement at the door caught her eye. She turned around and once again came face to face with Heero Yuy.

"What are you doing here Heero?" she asked, but she already knew why he was here, and what her answer would be.

"I've come to take you back to the Sanc Kingdom," he said in a stony voice.

"No," was all Relena said before she turned back to the mirror to brush her hair.

"Relena," Heero growled, "you have a job and a life waiting for you back there."

She scoffed. "My job can be done by someone else and that life means nothing to me anymore."

Heero finally lost his temper. He strode over to Relena and spun her around, causing her to back into the counter. He lifted his arm so that she was staring at the twin to her own tattoo. 'Yakusoku.'

"So this means nothing to you?" he yelled. "You think you can just ignore everything that happened between us?"

The girl's shock turned to anger and she yelled back, "Why not? You did."

Heero stared at the former queen, confused. He loosened his grip on her arm and she squeezed past him and walked to the center of the dressing room. She had her back to him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ever since we got these damn tattoos, you've acted as if nothing ever happened. You were even more distant than you were before we had sex. I thought something would have changed when you were assigned as my bodyguard, but nothing had. You treated me as if I was some burden for you to bear. So obviously our promise meant nothing to you."

Heero stared at her, shocked. "That's..."

"I have to go onstage now Heero," she said coldly, refusing to look at him. "You need to leave." And with that, she walked out of the room, leaving a confused and pissed off Gundam pilot.

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I know, it's not very long and it's not very good, but it was needed to clear some things up. More will be cleared up later and there will be some more drama and maybe even a little citrus. Please review!!!!!


	5. All hope lost

Chapter 5. So you know what's up with the tattoos now, and in this chapter, you'll find out why Relena is angry with Heero.

"..." Speaking

'...' Thoughts

... Author's notes

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters and I do not own New York City (obviously).

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Relena rubbed her eyes and sighed as she unlocked the door to her apartment. It had been a long night and she was drained.

'Why can't Heero just leave me alone,' she thought to herself. 'I don't want to go back to the way things were and he needs to just deal with it.'

She shoved her door open angrily and flipped the light switch on.

A scream echoed through the courtyard.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"BLODDY FUCKING HELL HEERO!!!!" Relena yelled. She had turned on the lights and he was standing there in front of her. "What are you trying to do, you bastard, give me a heart attack?!"

Heero simply raised an eyebrow. Her language never used to be so... colorful. Oh, she would curse every once in while, but never so much in two sentences.

"I'm here to take you back to the Sanc Kingdom," he said coldly.

"I told you already," Relena spat back. "I'm not going back."

"Relena," Heero growled, getting fed up with her attitude, "we've been through this. You have to come back."

Relena could feel her breath getting shallow and her eyes filling with tears. She couldn't go back to the way things were. She wouldn't. She turned her head to the side so that Heero wouldn't see her tears. She wouldn't allow him to see her as weak anymore.

"I'm not going back with you Heero, so you need to leave."

Heero sighed and took a step towards the girl. Relena jumped back, her body tense and her watery eyes fierce.

"Don't. Touch. Me," she choked out.

Heero sighed again and reached for her arm, prepared to drag her back. As soon as he made a move for her though, she freaked out.

"NOOOO!!!" she shrieked as she slapped her former bodyguard across the face. He froze. Her slap hadn't hurt, but it had surprised him. He hadn't expected her to react like that. He watched as Relena then proceeded to sink to the floor, sobbing.

"Don't you get it?" she sobbed. "You're killing me Heero. Every time I'm around you, every time I see our tattoos, every time you speak to me like I mean nothing to you, a part of me dies. I can't be around you anymore; I can't go back to the way things were."

They stayed there, staring into each others eyes. Cold, Prussian blue meets sad, tear-filled turquoise. He hoped that she didn't mean what he thought she meant, but his gut told him that she did.

"So you're breaking our promise?" Heero said softly.

"No Heero," she whispered, "you were the one to break our promise."

Heero's breath caught in his throat. Was that true? "How?" Heero whispered.

Relena looked down at the ground, feeling broken, "Because our promise was that we'd always find hope in each other, but when I was around you, I lost all of my hope."

Silence filled the room.

"I know you've been through a lot," she continued, "I know you need time to heal and feel again, and I tried to be patient, I really did. But I can't wait forever, no matter how much I love you. You made it very clear while you were my body guard that you have no desire to feel again, that I just don't matter enough to you. I think that what happened between us was just two desperate people looking to fill the void in their souls." Tears streamed down her face as she broke down into sobs again.

Heero felt a strange pain in his heart, one that pierced deeper than anything he had ever felt before. He crouched down next to the woman he cared about and attempted to hug her, wanting her to know that he did care for her. As soon as he touched her though, she began screaming and thrashing violently in his grasp.

"NOOO!!" she wailed. Her haunting cries ripped through Heero. He let go of her and she curled up into a ball on the floor, wailing, pain and sadness radiating off of her. "Just go away," she whispered through her sobs. "Please."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Okay Relena. I'll go." He said softly as he stood up and walked out the door, pausing once to look back at his dove of peace. "Goodbye," he whispered. And with that, he shut the door and walked away.

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WAIT!!!! DON'T FEEL SAD OR ANGRY YET!!! THIS IS NOT THE END!!!! At least, I don't think it is. If it is the end, it is not the end that I had planned. So, either the next chapter will be an epilogue or just another chapter. I don't know yet to tell you the truth. Maybe I'll make two versions of the story. One with this being the end (which makes me want to cry), and another, longer one with a happy ending.

I'm not sure how this chapter turned out. It seems quick and lacking emotion. I don't know. That's why I need reviews. Thank you to all of you who have reviewed so far, but please, keep them coming. Let me know.


	6. A love that comes with daylight's break

Hi everyone. I hope no one is too upset with me over the last chapter. This chapter is the last chapter of Serenity, but don't freak out yet. I'm going to write another story. Sort of a sequel/alternate ending to Serenity, but with a happier ending. I really wanted a happy ending, but I think this one needed to be written. It just wouldn't stop bugging me. So, look for the second part of Serenity, I'm thinking of calling it, "Love it, let it go, and it will return." I just started a Labyrinth fanfic, but I will try to juggle both.

Disclaimer: Do I even need to bother? Don't you lawyers looking to sue me out there get it yet?

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Heero stopped outside of a small elementary school and looked in at the children playing in the school yard. It had been four years since he walked out of Relena's apartment and out of her life, although he'd still look in on her every once in a while, just to make sure she was alright.

A few months after he left, she quit working at the club and finally started college. She finished in record time, earning her teaching degree in just four years and immediately started working as a first grade teacher in Boston. That was where he was now, outside of the school she worked at, looking in on her once again.

He watched as the children laughed and chased each other, full of innocence and hope. He felt his heart give a painful tug. That tug worsened as he looked up and saw Relena, crouched down in the center of the yard, talking to a little girl.

Heero watched as Relena laughed at something the little girl said and hugged her. She practically glowed with warmth and happiness, a striking contrast to the cold, sad girl that she had once been.

Heero couldn't help but wonder if he was what had caused that sadness inside her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Heero noticed a young man approaching Relena. Relena smiled when she saw the man. Heero watched as she stood up and kissed the other man softly on the lips. He looked away as he felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach and a lump form in his throat.

He had lost her. He had lost the only person who had ever loved him and the only person he had ever loved.

The Gundam pilot glanced back at the couple, seeing how Relena smiled and laughed when she was with that other man, two things that she rarely did when she was around Heero. He looked down at the tattoo on his wrist. Suddenly, he smiled. It was a soft, sad smile, but it showed the emotion and love that Heero had never been able to show before.

"Okay Relena," he whispered. "This is my last visit, I promise this time. I could never give you what you needed, as much as I wanted to. You deserve so much better than me. You deserve to be happy, and I know that this guy will make you happy.

"You're my serenity Relena. You're the only thing that has ever brought peace into my life. I know that you think that I broke my promise, but I never did. I've always loved you and I always will. That love just didn't come soon enough did it?" he smiled again. "Goodbye Relena."

With that, he turned from the school and walked away, away from the candle that had guided him out of the darkness of his heart. But that was okay now, because daylight had finally come for both of them.

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Yay!! It's finished!! I can't tell you how hard this chapter was to write. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I just couldn't get the words to come out right. I must have listened to the song "Breathe" by Melissa Etheridge about fifty times, trying to feel inspired.

I know that this wasn't the ending that you all wanted, but remember, I'm writing another one. If I don't start on that soon, e-mail me and yell at me to get my butt in gear. Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed. There hasn't been a lot of reviews, but more than I've gotten on my other stories, so the few that I've gotten are just wonderful to me. So, to unearthlyangel89, animerockstar, mT96, Kai'sLover, Skydancer1, Konomeitsuki, and anyone else who read this story, I bid you adieu and keep reviewing.


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